FPAC anniversary gala features music, drama

Western Carolina University will mark five years of art and entertainment at the Fine and Performing Arts Center with a gala featuring art, music and a theatrical revue of songs by George and Ira Gershwin on Friday, Oct. 22.

Tickets for the event will go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 7.

The gala will begin at 6 p.m. with an outdoor cocktail reception held under tents in the FAPAC courtyard. Reception guests will experience the unveiling of WCU’s new outdoor sculpture exhibition and have the opportunity to preview a Fine Art Museum exhibit of contemporary images of Appalachia by photographer Mike Smith.

Festivities move indoors at 7 p.m. for a performance by WCU’s resident Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet, followed by a 7:30 p.m. curtain time for “’S Wonderful.”

The new off-Broadway revue transports the audience to different places in different decades with scenes set in New York in the ’20s, Paris in the ’30s, Hollywood in the ’40s and New Orleans in the ’50s. Musical numbers include classics such as “Swanee,” “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “Nice Work if you Can Get It,” “Summertime,” “I’ve Got Rhythm” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.”

Tickets are available in several price tiers. A ticket to the Gershwin revue plus entry to the cocktail reception costs $100. Orchestra seats for only “’S Wonderful” cost $50; club seating costs $35; and balcony seat tickets cost $25.